VictorinoxSportsman Swiss Army Knife, 13 Function Swiss Made Pocket Knife with Large Blade, Corkscrew and Wire Stripper - Red

I’ve carried a Victorinox Swiss Army knife every day for over 50 years, and I have over 50 of them, including some vintage models costing hundreds of dollars.The Sportsman is currently my choice for an EDC knife.The two-layer 84 mm SAKs really hit a sweet spot, perfectly balancing pocketability and functionality.Pocketability is important… key, even. To really “get” Swiss Army Knives, to understand the genius of their design, you need to carry your knife all the time. All. The. Time. It’s only then that you realize, not how many uses they have, exactly, but rather how many times during the day having one makes things better.For me, most of the time, I can carry larger models perfectly comfortable. Most of the time. Not all the time. I wear lightweight yoga/meditation-stye pants around the house year round, and out and about in warm weather. A larger knife isn’t comfortable in those. Or in lightweight shorts. Or in dress pants.In about 2008, I started collecting and using lots of different models, but before that I carried the Climber model every day for about 40 years. I’ve done the math, based on the length of time and how many times I use SAK during a day. I figure I’ve used my Climber right around 100,000 times. It really is a great EDC knife, and I always especially like the scissors.But, the scissors aren’t available on any 84 mm SAKs currently in production. I have some vintage Golfers with the scissors, and they’re really nice.But lately I realized something. If you go on a knife or bushcrafting forum, and mention how you really want the scissors, inevitably someone will say, “I’ve found I can do all my cutting tasks with the knife blades.” Well, that’s true, except for one thing: you can’t trim your fingernails with them. That sounds like a trivial thing, but having a ragged nail drives me crazy, and if I can’t deal with it, I feel like my Swiss Army Knife let me down, which makes me very sad. I love my knife. I don’t want to feel bad about it.But (this is the thing I realized), with the nail file/cleaner blade on the Sportsman, I don’t have to worry about that. With the Sportsman, those guys who said you can do all your cutting tasks with the knife blades are now correct. I’ll use the file for my nails, and the knife for everything else.Importantly, the file blade is much more versatile than the scissors. The scissors do one thing, very well. But just one thing. The file blade is quite versatile.It cleans and files your nails, of courseIt files other stuffIt’s a very good driver for small Phillips screwsIt’s a good little pry tool, especially for the plastic cases and covers on small devices and appliancesIt’s good for opening packages and mail without dulling your bladeIt (along with the corkscrew) is a good marlinspike-type tool for getting stubborn knots untiedThe corkscrew is very versatile too… more so than the back-mounted Phillips. And that Phillips isn’t very good: you can’t use it in tight places, and it only gets purchase on large screws. The tip of the can opener blade, on the other hand, works great on Phillips screws across a wide range of sizes, and it works in tight quarters, so there’s no need for the back-mounted Phillips. The corkscrew is, like the file, good for untying stubborn knots. And it holds the mini-screwdriver (which, incidentally, is an excellent tool for working with small split rings). And it screws corks!The Sportsman has as much or even more functionality as my beloved Climber, but at about 60% the pocket presence.I think about Swiss Army knives *a lot*. And I currently think the Sportsman is the best EDC pocket knife, including vintage, out-of-production models.

I have two Swiss Army knives: The Sportsman and the Classic.I ordered the Classic about 2 weeks ago and using it was... alright. The blade was very small as was the handle and it made for one of the most unwieldly knives I've ever used; I ended up cutting my fingers twice in 3 days. I thought the classic was catered more towards everyday use but I see it as more of a miniature or backup model.Then I ordered the Sportsman and I must say that I'm impressed. The tools don't come out as smoothly as they do on the Classic but they are much more useful. The main feature is, of course, the large blade. The blade is about 1 1/2 inches as opposed to the Classic's small blade, which measures in at about an inch. The knife feels great in the hand and I was able to cut some thorns in the backyard with ease, minus the cut I previously obtained when I attempted this task with the Classic. It also functions very well as a household knife. I opened a frozen dinner bag with it and it cut through with ease, with less hassle than the serrated kitchen knives.The next tools in the lineup are the Bottle Opener and the Can Opener. I tried both with a bottle of IBC Root Beer and a can of soup respectively and they worked great. Also, they have a large and small screwdriver (again respectively) which I tested by unscrewing my motherboard out of my old PC, which proved very successful although I'd have preferred to use a real screwdriver. Nonetheless very effective.Behind the large blade is the nail file/cleaner. It worked great and I made the sacrifice of chewing of a nail and filing it to perfection. The nail cleaner also proved effective at getting dirt out of my fingernails after some activity in the woods.On the other side of the handle are a corkscrew and reamer with sewing eye. I haven't tested either but the corkscrew on the Sportsman and the other Corkscrew I have in my house both feel natural in the hand and I'd say that it has a good grip.Located in the handle, as always, are some tweezers and a plastic toothpick. I gave myself a splinter and used the tweezers to remove it with as much ease as a bathroom set. The toothpick also worked well for getting some lettuce out of my teeth.This knife is not without faults. A pair of scissors would be nice, as I have a pair in the Classic knife that works like a charm. Another con is that some of the tools, specifically the reamer and nail file, are somewhat difficult to get out. I'm a person with fairly short nails but I'd advise keeping a little length on one nail in order to get some of the tools out. The only other beef I have with the knife is that the blade has no locking mechanism. While this is not a problem it'd be a little reassuring and cause less worry about potential accidents.Overall this is a great knife and, as advertised, it's like having a tooblbox in your pocket. Everyday life is now much more easy with the reassurance that if I run into a task of any sort, my Swiss Army knife will be able to help me overcome daily chores without opening the kitchen drawer or searching through the garage. Great for everyday use and outdoor purposes and incredibly safe to handle, especially compared to the S.A. Classic.